Stuart Pearce has claimed that a player who played just 90 minutes of football under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City was brilliant.
When Pep Guardiola was appointed by City in 2016, they had quite an ageing squad.
The £378,846-a-week man could not overhaul the entire Sky Blues squad in the summer he joined the club.
However, it seemed clear that certain players were not the best fits for the project Guardiola was building at the club.
For instance, Samir Nasri.
Before Guardiola’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium, Nasri seemed like one of the players who would benefit from his appointment.
Stuart Pearce says player Guardiola barely used at City was “sensational”
Having thrived under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in the past, the Frenchman felt comfortable playing in a possession-based team.
Under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini as well, Samir Nasri shone, primarily due to his impeccable technique.
In theory, Guardiola would perhaps have loved working with Nasri due to his versatility as well.
Be it as an attacking midfielder or out wide, the retired technician could impact games in a way several multifaceted attackers have under the Catalan.
But Nasri was shipped out on loan to Sevilla and sold in the following season, despite the City boss going on to work with a similar attacker in terms of his profile in Grealish.
Another player that Pep Guardiola decided was not a part of his plans at Manchester City was Joe Hart but for Stuart Pearce, he is in between the sticks in an XI of the best players he has ever managed.
On the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast, Stuart Pearce raved about Joe Hart: “I’ve gone for Joe Hart. I could’ve gone for David James but I had Joe Hart and signed him at club level and what he done for them and also what he done for me at Under-21 level. He was sensational.”
“I’ve just edged on Joe being the goalkeeper.”
Joe Hart was a phenomenal goalkeeper
Considering Joe Hart was well and truly a wonderkid, one can imagine how much Stuart Pearce enjoyed working with him as the England Under-21 boss.
Hart fulfilled his remarkable potential, as he won multiple trophies for City and was unquestionably England’s number one at one point, which perhaps cannot be said for other talented English goalkeepers.
Namely, Jordan Pickford, who is yet to sign for an elite club and Jack Butland, who did not nail down his spot as the Three Lions’ first-choice goalkeeper.
At his best, Hart was perhaps one of, if not the best shotstopper in the Premier League.
The Celtic goalkeeper’s fundamentals were very strong as well, as he commanded the box incredibly well and was a terrific communicator.
Whether it be week-by-week in the Premier League or against the big boys in the Champions League, Hart never looked out of place.
Joe Hart’s tremendous displays against the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona in the club’s early years in Europe are the stuff of legends.
Hart’s career, both for club and country spiraled out of control at points but at his best, he was well and truly a superstar in net.